“I” Before “E” Except After “C”…

Well, not always. You see, some rules simply don’t apply all the time. And that’s one of the reasons English can be so difficult to master.
Take the “i” before “e” except after “c” rule. I know many people who rely on it to self-check their spelling, but this could be a mistake — here’s a list of words where that rule doesn’t apply:

Beige

Cleidoic

Codeine

Conscience

Deify

Deity

Deign

Eight

Either

Feign

Fein

Feisty

Foreign

Forfeit

Freight

Gneiss

Greige

Greisen

Heifer

Heigh-ho

Height

Heinous

Heir

Heist

Leitmotiv

Neigh

Neighbor

Neither

Peignoir

Prescient

Rein

Science

Seiche

Seidel

Seine

Seismic

Seize

Sheik

Society

Sovereign

Surfeit

Veil

Vein

Weight

Weir

Weird

Know some other “i” before “e” except after “c” rule-breaking words? Send us a comment and share!